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Lot 216Y
A French Exhibition-type mid-19th century Neo-Renaissance gilt-bronze mounted mahogany, rosewood, palissander and ebony commode-secrétaire by Grohé frères,
9 July 2015, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £12,500 inc. premium
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A French Exhibition-type mid-19th century Neo-Renaissance gilt-bronze mounted mahogany, rosewood, palissander and ebony commode-secrétaire by Grohé frères,
the rectangular Belgian black marble top above a long secrétaire drawer with circular flower-head handles, the escutcheon surrounded by masks, opening to reveal an inset gilt-tooled leather writing surface, four short brass-inlaid drawers and a pigeon hole, each angle to the side with a standing bearded man, the pair of cupboard doors centred by a hinged grotesque mask with secret release push-button revealing the key hole, flanked to each side by a portrait bust of a man and a lady wearing typical Henri IV costume, within a scrolling foliate mount, the interior with three linen drawers, on a stepped base with canted angles; the carcass under the marble with old paper label inscribed Monsieur de Proyart/ 34 Avenue de Versailles/ Paris/ Partie de 18 colis, a further label indistinctly inscribed Chatillon St. Aude/ Paris/ Batignolles/ 18. 20. 1. 42, 127.5cm wide, 54cm deep, 96.5cm high (50in wide, 21in deep, 37 1/2in high).
Footnotes
A very similar commode-secrétaire by Grohé Frères was exhibited at the Paris Exposition des Produits de l'Industrie in 1839. It is today exhibited in the collection of the Louvre.
The Grohé brothers, German in origin, settled in Paris in 1827. In 1829 they founded a company to manufacture and sell furniture and objets d'art. In 1847 they founded Grohé Frères, which closed in 1884. The company, specialising in classic furniture styles, was one of the most respected of its time with among its customers Louis-Philippe, Napoleon III, and Queen Victoria.
Literature:
Alcouffe D., Dion-Tenenbaum A., Lefebure A., Le Mobilier du Musée du Louvre, t.1, 1993, n 113, p. 325-326.
Dion-Tenenbaum A., Louvre. Les Objets d'Art. Le XIXe siècle. Guide du visiteur, 1999, p. 41-42.
Durand J., Le Louvre. Les Objets d'art, 1995, p. 120.
Musée du Louvre. Nouvelles acquisitions du département des Objets d'art 1985-1989, 1990, n 110, p. 226-228.
Un âge d'or des arts décoratifs 1814-1848, cat. expo, Paris, 1991, n 191, p. 353-354.
Une tradition Royale. Les Acquisitions du département des objets d'art du Louvre dans L'Estampille, L'Objet d'Art, Octobre 1990, n 240, p. 34-53.